[Case Study] 500kW Chiller Hire for a Winery in Victoria

Victoria winery chiller hire was required after a major fault left a winery’s existing chiller unavailable during the busy summer period.

A leak within the existing chiller’s evaporator tubes meant the unit required repair, but replacement parts needed to come from overseas and would not arrive quickly.

The timing created an immediate cooling problem. The winery needed to maintain low-temperature glycol cooling to its holding tank jackets while waiting for the permanent chiller to return to service.

Aircon Rentals supplied a 500kW temporary chiller solution to maintain the required glycol temperatures while repairs progressed.

Project Overview

Location: Victoria
Industry: Winery and beverage production
Application: Glycol cooling for winery holding tanks
Project type: Emergency chiller replacement during equipment repair
Cooling capacity supplied: 500kW
Required glycol temperature: Down to -4°C
Temporary hose run: Approximately 40 metres
Monitoring: Remote monitoring with email and text alerts

Equipment Supplied

• 1 x 500kW air-cooled chiller
• Temporary electrical cabling
• Approximately 40 metres of temporary hose
• Victaulic adapter fittings for supply and return
• Supporting pumping equipment
• Remote monitoring

Aircon Rentals’ current 500kW chiller range includes units designed for large commercial and industrial cooling applications, with chilled water pumps, pipework and electrical accessories available as part of the temporary system.

The Challenge

The winery’s existing chiller developed a major leak within its evaporator tubes during summer.

The fault meant the chiller would remain unavailable while replacement parts were sourced from overseas.

For the winery, waiting for the repair was not practical.

Cooling was required to maintain the glycol circuit serving the holding tank jackets. During the busy summer period, losing this cooling for an extended time could interfere with normal winery operations.

The temporary system therefore needed to be mobilised quickly and capable of maintaining glycol temperatures down to approximately -4°C.

The site also presented practical installation requirements.

The rental chiller could not be positioned in exactly the same location as the existing equipment, which meant temporary hydraulic and electrical connections needed to extend further across the site.

Why Temporary Cooling Was Required

The permanent chiller could not be returned to service immediately.

With replacement parts coming from overseas, the winery needed another source of cooling while the existing equipment was repaired.

Chiller hire allowed the winery to continue operating its glycol cooling system rather than waiting for the permanent chiller to become available again.

The rental system needed to:

• provide sufficient cooling capacity
• operate at the required low glycol temperature
• connect into the existing winery cooling circuit
• work with the available electrical infrastructure
• operate reliably at a rural site
• remain in place until the permanent chiller was repaired

This allowed the repair programme and the winery’s cooling requirement to be managed separately.

For a broader view of temporary cooling, refrigeration and power requirements during vintage, see Aircon Rentals’ winery HVAC hire solutions.

The Temporary Chiller Solution

Aircon Rentals supplied a 500kW air-cooled chiller to temporarily take over the winery’s cooling requirement.

Within hours of the requirement being identified, the Aircon Rentals team loaded the equipment onto an interstate B-double for transport to the Victorian site.

Once on-site, a forklift was used to unload and position the chiller in the required location.

The temporary system was then connected into the winery’s glycol circuit so cooling could continue while the existing chiller remained out of service.

The chiller was commissioned to maintain the low-temperature glycol conditions required by the winery.

Temporary Electrical Connection

The winery’s existing electrical infrastructure also needed to be considered as part of the temporary installation.

An Aircon Rentals electrician worked with the winery’s local electrician to disconnect the electrical supply from the failed chiller.

Temporary electrical cables supplied by Aircon Rentals were then used to connect the available power supply to the rental chiller.

This allowed the temporary unit to use the site’s existing electrical supply without waiting for major permanent electrical modifications.

For temporary chiller projects, power availability can be just as important as cooling capacity.

The installation needs to consider the electrical requirements of the chiller and supporting equipment, available switchboard capacity, cable routes and connection requirements before the system can be commissioned.

Connecting the Temporary Chiller to the Winery

The 500kW rental chiller needed to be positioned further away from the winery plant than the existing chiller.

To connect the temporary unit into the cooling circuit, Aircon Rentals installed approximately 40 metres of temporary hose.

Victaulic adapter fittings were used for the supply and return connections.

The temporary hose arrangement allowed the rental chiller to connect into the winery’s existing system even though the equipment could not occupy the same position as the permanent unit.

This is an important consideration for temporary chiller installations.

The nearest suitable equipment location may not always be immediately beside the existing plant. Hose distance, flow requirements, pressure loss and equipment positioning all need to be considered when planning the temporary connection.

Installation and Commissioning

Once the chiller, temporary pipework and electrical connections were in place, the system was commissioned.

The Aircon Rentals team carried out a series of checks to confirm that the temporary system was operating correctly.

This included verifying:

• low-temperature glycol operation
• required flow rates
• supply and return connections
• electrical operation
• chiller performance

The temporary chiller was then placed into service to support the winery while the existing equipment remained under repair.

Remote Monitoring

The winery was located in rural Victoria, some distance from the Aircon Rentals Melbourne branch.

Remote monitoring was installed on the temporary chiller for the hire period.

This allowed technicians to remotely check equipment operation and monitor performance while the chiller was running at negative-temperature conditions.

Email and text alerts were also configured so the Aircon Rentals team could be notified if an operating issue occurred.

This provided additional visibility over the temporary system while it remained in operation at the remote site.

Returning to the Permanent Chiller

Once repairs to the winery’s original chiller had been completed and the permanent system was operating satisfactorily, Aircon Rentals returned to site to remove the temporary equipment.

The rental chiller was disconnected from the winery’s glycol circuit and electrical supply.

An Aircon Rentals 8-tonne forklift was used to load the equipment back onto the B-double for transport.

Within a few hours, the temporary chiller and accessories had been removed from site and the winery had returned to its permanent cooling system.

The Outcome

The 500kW temporary chiller maintained the winery’s cooling requirement while the failed permanent unit remained out of service.

The temporary system provided low-temperature glycol cooling down to approximately -4°C and allowed the winery to continue operating while replacement parts were sourced and repairs progressed.

The installation involved more than delivering a chiller.

Electrical supply needed to be transferred, approximately 40 metres of temporary hose was required to reach the existing cooling circuit, the system needed to be commissioned for negative-temperature operation and remote monitoring was used because of the site’s rural location.

Once the permanent chiller was repaired, the temporary equipment was disconnected and removed.

Project Results

• 500kW temporary chiller capacity supplied
• Winery cooling maintained during permanent chiller repair
• Low-temperature glycol operation down to approximately -4°C
• Equipment mobilised within hours of the requirement
• Temporary electrical cabling supplied
• Approximately 40 metres of temporary hose installed
• Victaulic supply and return connections used
• Required flow rates confirmed during commissioning
• Remote monitoring used throughout the hire
• Email and text alerts configured
• Temporary equipment removed once the permanent chiller returned to service

What This Means for Wineries

A winery chiller failure can involve more than replacing one refrigeration unit with another.

The temporary system needs to match the actual process requirements of the winery.

That can include:

• required cooling capacity
• glycol temperature
• glycol concentration
• system flow
• temporary hose distance
• connection sizes
• pumping requirements
• electrical supply
• equipment access
• installation location
• monitoring requirements
• expected repair duration

The timing of the failure also matters.

Cooling problems during summer or crush can create much greater operational pressure than the same failure during a lower-demand period.

For this Victorian winery, the permanent equipment required parts from overseas. A temporary chiller allowed the cooling requirement to be addressed immediately while the repair process continued separately.

Aircon Rentals has also supported wineries where the existing cooling plant remained operational but could not meet peak crush-season demand. In one project, an additional 500kW of cooling was supplied during harvest. See the Additional Cooling Capacity for Winery Crush Season case study.

A separate winery west of Sydney required emergency cooling after its permanent chiller failed just before crush. See the Emergency Chiller Hire Winery case study.

Aircon Rentals has also delivered low-temperature glycol cooling at another rural Victorian winery. See the Glycol Chiller Rental case study.

These projects show the different reasons wineries may require temporary cooling, including equipment failure, additional seasonal capacity and low-temperature process cooling.

Why Aircon Rentals

This project required a temporary cooling solution that could be mobilised quickly, operate at negative glycol temperatures and integrate with an existing winery cooling system in rural Victoria.

Aircon Rentals supplied the chiller, temporary electrical cabling, hydraulic connections and remote monitoring required for the installation.

The team also coordinated with the winery’s local electrician, commissioned the temporary system and returned to remove the equipment once the permanent chiller was operational again.

Aircon Rentals provides temporary HVAC, refrigeration and power solutions for wineries across Australia, supporting fermentation cooling, crush-season capacity, equipment breakdowns, refrigeration requirements and contingency planning.

Need Temporary Cooling for a Winery?

Aircon Rentals supplies chiller hire for wineries, food and beverage manufacturers and other process cooling applications across Australia.

Temporary chiller systems can support:

• emergency chiller failures
• glycol chiller repairs
• crush-season cooling
• additional fermentation capacity
• planned refrigeration maintenance
• equipment replacement
• temporary low-temperature cooling

For more information on winery applications, visit our Winery HVAC Hire page or review our Winery Chiller Hire guide.

Call 1800 626 996, available 24/7, or contact Aircon Rentals to discuss your temporary cooling requirements.